Hello everyone Can you possibly help me. Joseph is seven years old, and a rescue dog that I've had for eight weeks. He is wonderful in every way apart from recall. I often spend my time chasing after him, as he simply does not respond to me calling...even with treats! Once he picks up a scent, that's it...he is off and here is no stopping him. He was found straying and that was how he found his way into a rescue home, and I do wonder if his love of just 'clearing off' has anything to do with this. When he is on the beach or the fields near home he loves to run and play with Elsie, my GSD, but will then take himself off in any direction he fancies, and does not appear to look for me. Although he has been seen by a vet when he went into the rescue home, and was given a clean bill of health, I'm sure he is somewhat deaf, as it can be hard to get his attention when at home where it's quiet (well, as quiet as it can be with three dogs), and Elsie even barks in his ear if he is asleep and someone arrives at the front door! Any advice on training a deaf mutt would be very welcome
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems If his hearing is bad then you may need to rely on hand signals as your cue and a little light that flashes when you press a button (e.g. a small torch). The light would take the place of a marker word or clicker. The recall issue is possibly more to do with never having been taught to do a good recall (and him not seeing the point of it when there are so many other fun things to do). To overcome that you'd need to work on recall training - maybe have a bit of a scout around this site for advice on recall (as well as The Labrador Site http://www.thelabradorsite.com/. Recall issues are a common issue Great to hear that you are enjoying your new boy, Joseph I bet he is happy to have found a loving home.
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems I think first of all you need to have him checked over by a vet if you suspect that he is truly deaf and doesn't just suffer from selective hearing : which is only too common. When I got my rescue cocker I hand fed him all of his food for several months to establish a bond between us. It worked very well, but you will have to be quite consistent and not feed him anything from his bowl, all food has to come from your hand. Might be worth a try.
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems Kate, I couldn't agree with Heidrun more. Charliie had selective hearing too and was an absconder He is kept on lead/training line whilst we work on Pippa's Total Recall whistle training and we are definitely seeing results and he now has a basic recall. We have started hand feeding him all of his food throughout the day and he has to work for it. He does heel work, lead work, retrieving, sits, waits, paw anything for food. He does not get any food from a bowl only from our hands now. Also started clicker training too. Really it is so worth trying. The best of luck. Helen x
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems Thank you so much, everyone! Your advice is really helpful and much appreciated. I will work through the total recall training and the hand feeding, and see what I can do. Any advice on hand feeding would be appreciated, as I've never done this before. Joseph is a sheer delight to have, he has settled in well...so much so, he is fast asleep on my feet at the end of the bed! I have another rescue boy, Bailey, who I have had for two weeks now, and the pair of them are inseparable; he is currently snoring away next to me. My boys have bought me huge pleasure in the last few weeks, but also for Elsie my GSD. Prior to having labs, I had St. Bernard's, but lost two before they were four years old; one to bloat, and the other to a sudden ruptured spinal disc. I lost my dear Frank eight weeks ago, and both Elsie and I felt lost...so off to the dogs home we went to find a new pal. I love the Labrador breed, so decided I had room for another, so along came Bailey. Many thanks again
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems Welcome, and good luck with both your new boys! Gosh, that's quite a houseful of dogs!
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems If he really is deaf (vet check) then you could get a remote collar which vibrates and teach him that the vibration is a recall. How wonderful you are to rescue two dogs Stacia
Re: Training a dog with hearing problems Hi Stacia I'm going to have Joseph's hearing checked again. The vibrating collar sounds a very good idea though...thank you for this.
